Review – THREE & OUT

Today I’m thrilled to tell you about a new book that was published this week by one of my favorite authors, Laura Chapman. Scroll on for information on her new novel Three & Out, my review, an excerpt of the novel, AND a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card!

THREE & OUT by Laura Chapman

New from Laura Chapman, the third installment of her fantasy football romantic comedy Queen of the League series . . .

After rushing to the altar and moving across the country, Harper Duquaine (or is it MacLaughlin, now?) is in uncharted territory. What once seemed like a promising opportunity to advance her husband’s career while giving her some much-needed independence and adventure has proven to be a bust. By the time fall rolls around again, she’s back in a boring job by day and overstocking her inventory of crocheted scarves by night. Not even the prospect of a new football season holds much excitement.

At least that’s what she thought. Harper suddenly finds herself the manager of not one but two fantasy football teams—each with its own set of drama. Between the added pressure of her new marriage, an unexpected career prospect, and the hiccups created by people from her past and present worlds, Harper quickly finds herself going from bored to over-whelmed.

Can she hold up under the pressure, or will Harper learn the hard way that the turf isn’t always greener on the other field?

My Review

Three & Out Recap: Team Chapman pens another winner!

I loved the continuation of Harper and Brook’s story. This novel finds them newly settled in Seattle after moving for Brook’s new coaching job. Things start off slow for Harper and as fantasy football seasons progresses, she finds that she’s got too much going on to handle it all. She continues to grow in her relationship with Brook, and although they have their drama and situations, they always work it out in the end. That’s part of what being married is all about, being on the same team, supporting one another, and working together to make it work.

J.J’s role in this novel adds a comical layer and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at some of the situations the characters manage to get themselves into. This story was entertaining and funny and captured my attention from the first page to the last. I doubt I’d ever be interested in being on a fantasy football team, but it was fun pretending to immerse myself in it by living vicariously through Harper for a few days while reading this novel. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series to see where life takes them next!

5/5 for another win from Team Chapman

I received a complimentary Advanced Review Copy from the author. My review reflects my own opinion 100%.

“You have to talk some sense into J.J. He’s freaking out about this whole redraft thing.”

I roll my eyes at the irritation in Wade’s voice. How like sweet, lovable, but basically helpless Wade to want me to save the day and soothe everyone else’s nerves. Even though I’m two time zones away. It’s my own fault. Back when we all worked together at the car dealership in Lincoln, that’s what I did. I fixed things. Not to brag, I was good at it. Too good, apparently.

I start the brisk walk toward campus. After looking around town, we’d settled on a tiny walk-up a few minutes from campus rather than going for something more spacious in the suburbs. What we pay for in extra rent, we make up for in gas and time savings. Plus, every work day starts and ends with cardio, which is how I’m able to rationalize skipping the gym. I’ve always been bad about going, but now I can do it guilt-free.

“What are we going to do?” Wade asks. “He’s out of control.”

“In his defense, it was a pretty big pain in the butt to find a time when we were all available to draft in the first place. Things are complicated now that we’re on the West Coast and Gio is on the East—”

“It’s not a matter of time zones.”

I imagine myself flipping Wade the bird. “No. I suppose it isn’t.”

“You’re not here every day. You don’t get it.”

Now I have to fight the urge to throw my phone into the street. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to have to replace it. Especially not until I back up my music and photos. I have a bunch of pictures of Blitz and my latest crocheting projects on my phone. I can’t risk parting with them in a wave of misplaced fury. I take a deep breath and remind myself that I like Wade. Most of the time. Plus, I have to be patient with him. He’s married to Brook’s sister now, so he’s family.

Apparently, J.J. hasn’t been handling the changes to his environment well. First, Brook and I moved in February. Aside from the few months he spent playing in an arena league, J.J. hasn’t been away from his former practice squad wide receiver since they were freshmen in college. Then in May, Gio transferred to the flagship store in Schenectady, New York, so the owners of the dealership—the Donaldsons—could enjoy early retirement and a second honeymoon.

With his most stable influences gone, J.J. spent the summer in a free-for-all binge. There’s more drinking. More one-night stands. More shoving matches with strangers in bars. More illegal substances. It’s all of J.J.’s vices, only on a bigger level. He’s Deluxe J.J.

“Why are you just telling me this now? If it’s been going on all summer, why—”

“I thought we could take care of it. Contrary to what you might think, I usually try to handle things on my own.” I can almost imagine Wade tussling his cropped brown hair on the other side of the line. “But this morning, after we got our messages about the botched draft, J.J. lost it. He threw a chair at one of the cars in the lobby.”

I gasp and nearly run into a woman walking her dog in the other direction. Recovering quickly, I dart an apologetic grin and mouth, “Sorry.” “What did Anderson do?”

“Nothing.”

I stumble again. “He did—”

“Well, not nothing really. He told J.J. to cool down and check our Internet sales. He said it in that voice of his that scares the crap out of you.”

I’m all too familiar with it. “That was it?”

“Well . . . then he asked Dylan to take the car back to maintenance.”

It makes sense. He’d want to make sure there wasn’t any damage to the body. He’d also want to take care of the dents with as little fuss as possible before ripping J.J. a new one.

“Then he asked you to call me? So I could set J.J. straight.”

“Pretty much.”

That figures. It all does. However, understanding the source for this request doesn’t give me any clear ideas on what I’m supposed to do to help. It’s not like I can hop on a plane and smack some sense into J.J. I’m already flying back in October, and I can’t take off that much time from work. A phone call will only do so much. There’s also the chance I could say the wrong thing and make it worse.

It’s not a good situation.

“Look, Wade, I don’t know what I can—”

“Just think of something. Anything. Give him a call and talk some reason into him. He listens to you.”

“Yeah, right. You mean he listens to Brook.” Which is who Wade should have called, come to think of it.

“Brook is my next call if you won’t help. But you’d be surprised by how much stock J.J. puts in you. I know I’m asking a lot—”

“You’re asking for a miracle.”

“Maybe, but please.”

The way he says it—his voice so wistful—is more than a request. It’s a last-ditch plea. Like Princess Leia telling Obi-Wan he’s her only hope. And, man, I need to make some less nerdy friends if that’s the first analogy to come to mind. I’m practically a female version of any given member of the league these days. My heart pings as I think about those guys. They’re more than my buddies. They’re my family. Not just the one’s I’m related to by blood or marriage.

Family comes through when you need them.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

~~~

*** BARGAIN ALERT *** To celebrate the new release, for a limited time, you can pick up the first two stories in the series for only 99 cents each. E-Books First & Goal and Going for Two are available for only 99 cents each. ***

In Laura Chapman’s Queen of the League series, Harper Duquaine joins a fantasy football league to prove she can hang with the guys. Only problem: she doesn’t know a sleeper from a keeper (or any of the other lingo thrown her way). Her competitive streak soon emerges, and she catches the interest of her top two competitors. With a slew of conflicting advice in her real and fantasy worlds, Harper must figure out how to play the game and come out a winner.

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